Full of the Bull

Tonight when I was giving the boys a bath, Carson said, "Mom, can I get out because I am about to get a water-burn. And Cole and I would like some popcorn, please."

He'd better become an attorney when he grows up because he sure knows how to spin it!

Back to School!

With the school year starting back up, things are definitely hectic at our house!

The main thing keeping us busy:Yes, that is a For Sale sign in our yard. And YES, we have lost our minds for putting our house on the market just as school is starting back up. As much as we love our little house, we realized a few weeks ago that we would like a little more room for these growing boys! A playroom would be just great. Let me just say that it is not easy keeping a house ready to show at all times with two young boys! Carson has been pretty helpful at keeping things picked up. Cole not so much. :)

I have also been working in my preschool classroom this past week. I teach preschool at our church, and both boys go to school there, too, which works out great. School starts on Tuesday and I have several last-minute things done before then. Like buy Cole a backpack. It should be easy to find a backpack/lunchbox on September 1st, right?

Last weekend was my mom's birthday and she came here to celebrate. We went out to eat with Debbie and Joyce and we all did some shopping.

Yes, that is a bruise on Cole's cheek. I have been wanting to have his and Carson's pictures taken but he always has a bruise or cut of some sort from all of his climbing! He was up last night with an ear infection, so Mark took Carson to church this morning and I stayed home with him. Poor little guy!

As hectic as our lives have been, there is always time for Blue Bell ice cream on a hot day!

Evidence

I don't need to work for CSI to recognize evidence when I see it!

Splishin' and a Splashin'

Earlier this week my friend Brenna and her kiddos Chloe and Hayden joined us for some swimming fun.

Group shot

Cole showing off his battle wounds from the other day
Carson swimming underwater (thanks, Stacey) :)

Chloe, Cole and Carson

Woo-hoo!

Cole playing in the fountain w/the rest of the crew in the background ready to jump!

This little one almost fell asleep in the pool. He was exhausted by the end of our fun day with our friends!

Summer Fun

Carson came home yesterday after spending a few days with Mark's mom (Grandma) for two nights and my mom (Nan) for one night before preschool starts back up. He had a blast! He enjoyed playing outside on the swingset and with Bonnie the dog at Grandma's house. He was also very excited about going to see a movie (Space Chimps) and going to the Petsmart. At Nan's house he swam and went on walks to look in the creek and then we met at McDonald's the next day to have lunch. Of course, Cole climbed all the way to the top of the play area and did not want to come down! Carson had to retrieve him. Carson was exhausted after his fun weekend!!

Sadly, the frogs had to be returned to the pond while Carson was away. They were missing their froggy friends. :) Cole became a little bored with me while Carson was gone and and fell in love with ... DORA!! He's never really paid much attention to cartoons before, but boy he is hooked!

Last night some friends came over to play and have an impromptu dinner since both of our daddies were working late. We let the kids play outside, threw them all in the tub together and then let them have a pajama party. Here are Cole and Caroline yelling "DORA!!!" when we turned it on for them.

A little kiss...Today has been a not-so-fun summer day for Cole. We headed to the gym in the rain, I might add and as we walked to the children's area he clung to me like I was taking him to walk the plank, shaking his head "no" the entire way. I knew it was probably going to be a short work-out. Sure enough, I had been on the treadmill for a grand total of 10 minutes when I heard them paging me. (I swear every person in that place knows my name by now). I said good-bye to my friend and did the walk of shame to collect my crying boy. Then we headed to Taco Bueno. Because that's where you go when you leave the gym. I planned to have a quick lunch and then run a few errands.

The boys and I had a nice lunch together. Cole sat in the booth next to Carson and ate his party burrito, didn't scream and didn't throw food. Success! But just as we were leaving, Cole tripped and face planted into the concrete. Poor little guy, he just cried and cried. Fell asleep in the car and took a 3 hour nap. He ended up with a scraped nose and lip, and a little knot on his forehead.

Flashback

I have to take a break from all the family fun talk to say that this is just wrong. Someone please tell her that we do not want to relive Jr. High!

Have a great weekend!

Love Triangle

A little background: little girls Carson's age like to talk about getting married. A LOT. The first time Carson's friend Chloe asked him to play "getting married" he said, "Okay! Where's Mary?"

So last night we had dinner with our friends Ron and Susan before church. Their daughter Emma and Carson chatted each other up the entire time, as they always do. Susan called me later to tell me something funny she overheard at dinner:


Emma: Are you going to marry me or Avery?
Carson: Married is for grown-ups.
Emma: (Laughs and giggles) Mommy, Carson says he wants to marry a grown up! (She thought that was just hilarious).


Susan also went on to say that Emma gets concerned that Carson is going to marry Avery instead of her. Susan tries to reassure her that, no, Carson will not marry Avery because they are cousins. She said this is how the conversation ususally goes:

Emma: I think Carson might marry Avery.
Susan: No, Carson will not marry Avery because they are cousins.
Emma: But they are friends, too. So maybe he will marry her?
Susan: Don't worry, they are also cousins....and the cousin thing comes first.

My Boys

Today Cole is 19 months old, so I thought I would post an update about him and Carson.

I'll start with Cole. Here are a few of the words he is saying now: go bye-bye, go night-night, Bible, thank you, help, frog, fish (shish), hot, yes, no, back!, uh-oh (this is a frequent one), bath, baby, flower, teeth, nose, eye, ear, toes, hair, mama, daddy (daaeeee!), juice (he calls any drink juice), please, more please, apple (ap-bull, yells this whenever we go grocery shopping), cracker, cookie, shoes, outside (side), etc. Whenever he falls down he says, "Whoa!"

Today in the car I handed him a couple of french fries and he yelled, "YAY! YAY! YAY!" :)

His hair has gotten so blonde this summer:
His personality is really starting to show. And boy, does he have a lot of personality in that little body! Let's just say I emailed my friend Lindsey last night and told her I need to borrow her copy of The Strong Willed Child ASAP. We are definitely inching our way toward 2! I truly believe his strong will will be an asset as he becomes an adult, but it sure does test us at times.

One example: Last night at dinner he started throwing his food. After telling him no several times, he just laughed and kept launching food across the room. So we took his tray away and even though he didn't have anything to throw, he sat there PRETENDING throw things and laughing! Oh, my...Carson said, "Our baby sure is a little stinker, isn't he?"

Here are some SWEET things about Cole. And he can be SO sweet!

Whenever he sees Mark he yells, "DAAEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Love it!

When he wakes up in the morning he yells, "Mama! Daaeeeeeee!"

Can kind of spell his name: "C-O-E! Yea!!"

Tries to say his ABC's

LOVES to dance! (See video)

Always carries his blanket around... we call him Linus!

LOVES to give hugs and kisses. Yesterday he kissed everyone (multiple times) we were playing with when it was time to leave!

Is obsessed with balls, cars, and a dancing Elmo toy we have.

Likes to give high-fives!

Both boys love for us to chase them. In fact, this is what we do for much of our day!

Oh! He also loves to color. Here is one example of his handiwork (there are many). Thank goodness for magic erasers!

CARSON:

Still LOVES his brother so much! I can't believe how well they get along... for now!

Likes to play Lincoln Logs w/Mark.

He is obsessed with firemen and policemen. Anytime we see a fire truck, ambulance or police car, he gets SO excited!

Is also obsessed with bugs, snakes, lizards, dirt, you get the picture...

Loves to take baths with Cole:

Enjoys his pajama party every night. Now Cole can join in! Both boys get cozy in their pj's after a bath for a snack and a short cartoon in mommy and daddy's bed before bedtime.

Whenever he gets in trouble, he says, "Do you still love me?" Breaks my heart and makes me smile at the same time.

Both boys love to swim and Carson can swim well underwater. We usually go swimming 2-3 times per week.

He misses our dog Nate (our boxer who we had to have put to sleep a few months ago) terribly. Always asks when he will be able to see Natedog in Heaven and prays for him.

We've been using this prayer with Carson when we tuck him in at night and I love it! (You have to scroll down a bit). It sure cuts down on the laundry list of "God Blesses" which usually starts off with, "God bless my mommy, daddy and little brother..." and ends somewhere along the lines of, "God bless the chocolate chip cookie Mommy let me have at lunchtime today."

Carson likes to play "paramedic" and makes Cole be his patient:This weekend Mark was grilling steaks and I was inside making the side dishes, Carson ran in yelling, "TODAY IS THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE!! DADDY LET ME HAVE A LIZARD!!" (They found a lizard outside and Carson put him in his "bug catcher").
Of course, Carson begged to keep him. I said, "Lizards don't live inside very well. We don't want him to die." Carson said, "But what if I keep my promise every day and feed him and take care of him?" I said, "Well, how would you feel if he died?" He thought and said, "Well, Jesus would just open up the lid and take him up to Heaven with the Angels."

PS, We did not keep the lizard!

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

This past weekend was Mark's birthday. Carson helped me make a chocolate cake and that night Mark and I went out to eat and to see The Dark Knight. It was a fun day!

Making the cake Trying on Daddy's new kicks Happy Birthday, Daddy! We love you!